תיקון עולם- כיתה ח' קשת

(1) If man sends a get to his wife and then catches up with the messenger, or sends a messenger after the original messenger, and says to him, “The get which I gave you is annulled”, then it is annulled. If the husband arrives at his wife before [the messenger] or sends a messenger to her and says, “The get which I sent to you is annulled”, then it is annulled. Once the get has reached her hand, he cannot annul it.

(2) Originally, a husband would bring together a court wherever he was and annul the get. Rabban Gamaliel the Elder established that this should not be done, because of “tikkun olam”. Originally the husband would change his name, or his wife’s name, or the name of his town or of his wife’s town. Rabban Gamaliel the Elder established that he should write, “The man so-and-so or any name that he has,”; “the woman so-and-so or any name that she has,” because of “tikkun olam.”

(3) A widow is paid back [her kethubah] from the property of orphans only by taking an oath. [When the court] refrained from imposing an oath on her, Rabban Gamaliel the Elder established that she could take any vow which the orphans wanted and collect her kethubah. Witnesses sign their names on a get because of tikkun olam. Hillel instituted the prosbul because of tikkun olam.

(4) A [non-Jewish] slave [of a Jew] was taken captive and then ransomed [by a third party]: If [he is ransomed] to be a slave he goes back to slavery, If [he is ransomed] as a free man he does not go back to slavery. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: in either case he goes back to slavery. If a man makes his slave a pledge [for a debt] to another man and then he emancipates him, according to the “letter of the law” the slave is not liable to do anything. But because of tikkun olam we force his [second] master to emancipate him and he [the slave] writes a document for his purchase price. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says that the slave does not write the document but rather the one who emancipates him.

(5) One who is half a slave and half free works for his master one day and for himself one day, the words of Beth Hillel. Beth Shammai said to them: you have set things right for the master but you have not set things right for the slave. He cannot marry a female slave because he is already half free, and he cannot marry a free woman because he is half a slave. Shall he then decease [from having children]? But wasn’t the world only made to be populated, as it says, “He did not create it as a waste, he formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18)? Rather because of tikkun olam we compel his master to emancipate him and he writes a document for half his purchase price. Beth Hillel retracted [their opinion and] ruled like Beth Shammai.

(6) If a man sells his slave to a Gentile or [to someone living] outside the land [of Israel] the slave goes free. Captives should not be redeemed for more than their value, because of tikkun olam. Captives should not be helped to escape, because of tikkun olam. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says [that the reason is] to prevent the ill-treatment of fellow captives. Torah scrolls of the law, tefillin and mezuzoth are not bought from Gentiles at more than their value, because of tikkun olam.

(7) If a man divorces his wife because of ill-repute, he cannot remarry her. If because of a vow, he cannot remarry her. Rabbi Judah says: [if he divorces her] for vows which she made in front of many people, he may not remarry her, but if for vows which she did not make in front of many people, he may remarry her. Rabbi Meir says: [if he divorces her] for a vow which requires the investigation of a sage, he may not remarry her, but if for one which does not require the investigation of a sage, he may remarry her. Rabbi Eliezer says: they only forbid that one because of that one . Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Judah said: a case happened in Sidon of a man who said to his wife, “Konam, if I do not divorce you”, and he did divorce her, and the Sages permitted him to remarry her because of tikkun olam.

(8) A man divorces his wife because she is an aylonit: Rabbi Judah says he may not remarry her, But the sages say that he may remarry her. She marries someone else and has children from him and then demands her ketubah settlement [from her first husband]: Rabbi Judah said, they say to her, “Your silence is better than your speaking.”

(9) If a man sells himself and his children to a Gentile, he is not to be redeemed but his children are to be redeemed after the death of their father. If a man sells his field to a Gentile, and an Israelite bought it back, he has to bring, the purchaser must bring first fruits from it, because of tikkun olam.

(1) The Megillah is read on the eleventh, the twelfth, the thirteenth, the fourteenth, and the fifteenth [of Adar], never earlier and never later. Cities which have been walled since the days of Joshua ben Nun read on the fifteenth; villages and large towns read on the fourteenth, Except that villages move the reading up to the day of gathering.

(2) How so?If the fourteenth [of Adar] falls on Monday, the villages and large towns read on that day and the walled places on the next day. If it falls on Tuesday or on Wednesday, the villages move the reading up to the day of gathering, the large towns read on that day, and the walled places on the next day. If it falls on Thursday, the villages and large towns read on that day and the walled places on the next day. If it falls on Friday, the villages move the reading up to the day of gathering and the large towns and walled places read on that day. If it falls on Shabbat, the villages and large towns move the reading up to the day of gathering, and the walled places read on the next day. If it falls on Sunday, the villages move the reading up to the day of gathering, the large towns read on that day, and the walled cities on the day following.

(3) What is considered a large town? One which has in it ten idle men. One that has fewer is considered a village. In respect of these they said that they should be moved up but not postponed. But with regard to the bringing the wood for the priests, the [fast of] Tisha B’Av, the hagigah, and assembling the people they postpone [until after Shabbat] and they do not move them up. Although they said that they should be moved up but not postponed, it is permissible to mourn, to fast, and to distribute gifts to the poor [on these earlier days]. Rabbi Judah said: When is this so? In a place where people gather on Mondays and Thursdays, but in places where people do not gather on Mondays and Thursdays, the Megillah is read only on its proper day.

(4) If they read the Megillah during the first Adar and the year was intercalated (a month was added), it is read again in the second Adar. There is no difference between the first Adar and the second Adar except the reading of the Megillah and the giving of gifts to the poor.

(5) There is no difference between Shabbat and Yom Tov except the preparation of food. There is no difference between Shabbat and Yom HaKippurim except that the deliberate violation of the one is punished by a human court and the deliberate violation of the other by karet.

(6) There is no difference between one who is prohibited by vow from benefiting from his fellow and one who is prohibited by vow from [benefiting from] his food, except in the matter of setting foot [on his property] and of vessels which are not used for [preparing] food. There is no difference between vowed offerings and freewill-offerings except that he is responsible for vowed offering but not responsible for freewill-offerings.

(7) There is no difference between a zav who sees [genital discharge] twice and one who sees three, except the sacrifice. There is no difference between a metzora who is under observation and one declared to be a definite metzora except the disheveling of hair and tearing the clothes. There is no difference between a metzora who has been declared clean after being under observation and one who has been declared clean after having been a definite metzorah except shaving and [sacrificing] the birds.

(8) There is no difference between scrolls [of the Tanakh] and tefillin and mezuzahs except that scrolls may be written in any language whereas tefillin and mezuzahs may be written only in Assyrian. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says that scrolls [of the Tanakh] were permitted [by the sages] to be written only in Greek.

(9) There is no difference between a priest anointed with the oil of anointment and one who [only] wears the additional garments except for the bull which is offered for the [unwitting transgression of] any of the commandments. There is no difference between a serving [high] priest and one whose time has passed except the bull of Yom HaKippurim and the tenth of the ephah.

(10) There is no difference between a great altar and a small altar except for the pesach offering. This is the general principle: any animal which can be brought as a vow-offering or a freewill offering may be brought on a [small] altar, any animal which is not the object of a vow or a freewill-offering may not be brought on a [small] altar.

(11) There is no difference between Shiloh and Jerusalem except that in Shiloh sacrifices of lesser sanctity and second tithe could be eaten anywhere within sight [of the town], whereas in Jerusalem [they had to be eaten] within the walls. In both places the most holy sacrifices were eaten within the curtains. After the sanctification of Shiloh there is permission [for altars], but after the sanctification of Jerusalem there is no such permission.

(5) One who is half a slave and half free works for his master one day and for himself one day, the words of Beth Hillel. Beth Shammai said to them: you have set things right for the master but you have not set things right for the slave. He cannot marry a female slave because he is already half free, and he cannot marry a free woman because he is half a slave. Shall he then decease [from having children]? But wasn’t the world only made to be populated, as it says, “He did not create it as a waste, he formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18)? Rather because of tikkun olam we compel his master to emancipate him and he writes a document for half his purchase price. Beth Hillel retracted [their opinion and] ruled like Beth Shammai.

(10) Bet Shammai says: a man should not divorce his wife unless he has found her guilty of some unseemly conduct, as it says, “Because he has found some unseemly thing in her.” Bet Hillel says [that he may divorce her] even if she has merely burnt his dish, since it says, “Because he has found some unseemly thing in her.” Rabbi Akiva says, [he may divorce her] even if he finds another woman more beautiful than she is, as it says, “it cometh to pass, if she find no favour in his eyes.

(1) The wife can be divorced only with a written document that comes into her possession; such a document is called get (letter of divorce). There are ten basic things prescribed by the Torah in the divorce proceedings, namely: 1) The get must come from the husband voluntarily. 2) He must prepare it in writing only. 3) The subject of the letter must unfold that he has divorced and removed her from his possession. 4) It must express the idea of separation between him and her. 5) It must be especially written for her. 6) It must not require any other act except delivery. 7) He must hand it to her. 8) He must hand it to her in the presence of witnesses. 9) He must give it to her as a letter of divorce. 10) Only the husband, or his agent, must be the one handing it to her. The rest of the features of a get, such as the date and the signature of the witnesses, and the like, are all rabbinic in origin.

(2) How do we know that these ten essentials are prescribed by the Torah? It is written: "If she fails to please him … and he writes her a bill of divorcement, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house…" (Deuteronomy 24:1). If she fails to please him denotes that he divorces her only voluntarily; if his divorce has been involuntary it is invalid. The wife, however, is divorced whether or not she has been willing.

(3) And he writes denotes that she can be divorced only with a written document; her, especially for her; a bill of divorcement, something that separates between him and her, leaving him no right of possessing her; if this separation between him and her is not stated, her divorce is invalid, as it will be explained. Hands it to her denotes that she is not divorced until the get is given into her hand, or the hand of her agent that means the same as her own, or into her courtyard, all of which is legally regarded as her own hand, as it will be explained. And sends her away, the context of the get must convey that he sends her away and not that he sends himself away from her.

(4) If, for example, he wrote to her: "You are sent away, you are divorced, you are free to yourself, you are permitted to marry any man," or something like this, her divorce is valid. The essential formula of a get is: "You are permitted to marry any man." If, however, he wrote to her: "I am not your husband, I am not your betrothed, I am not your man," it is not a valid divorce, since it is written and he sends her away and not that he sends himself away. So too, if a man has written to his wife: "You are a free woman," it is not a valid divorce.

(5) The biblical expression and he sends her away does not indicate that her divorce is incomplete until she leaves his house, but that she is divorced as soon as the get reaches her hand, even if she is still in his house.— —

(9) How do we know that he must hand it to her only in terms of a divorce? It is written: "a bill of divorcement … hands it to her," that is, he must give it to her as a bill of divorcement. If, however, he handed it to her in terms of a note of indebtedness or a Mezuzah, or if he placed it in her hand while she was asleep, and when she awoke she noticed it in her hand, it is not a valid divorce. But, if he told her afterwards: "This is your divorce," it is a valid divorce.

(10) If a man said to witnesses: "Look at the get I am giving her," and then he said to her: "Take this note of indebtedness," it is valid, because he had informed the witnesses that he was giving it to her in terms of a divorce. He told her about a bill of indebtedness only because he was embarrassed in her presence.

(11) The man who divorces his wife must say to her, while handing her the get, this is your get, or it is your get, or something like this. If, however, he handed it to her and said nothing, it is a disqualified get. This rule applies only in a case where he had not spoken with her concerning her divorce; but if he had spoken with her about her divorce, and then handed it to her while saying nothing, it is a valid divorce.

(15) The sages have ruled that the witnesses must sign the divorce: suppose he gives her a get in the presence of two men and they die, her get would be as insignificant as a potsherd, seeing that it is not confirmed by witnesses. Hence, it has been instituted that the get should bear the testimony of witnesses. Even though the evidence of witnesses is included in the get, he must hand it to her in the presence of two men, either those who signed it or two others, because the get basically depends on the delivery witnesses [who transfer it to her].

(16) [When] two [witnesses] sign [the get] and [the husband] transgresses an gives [it] to [his wife] in private or it is found that the witnesses [who saw] the transfer were unsuitable [to be witnesses], the [divorce is still] legally effective, since the witnesses were acceptable and the get has been transferred to her [the wife]. There are some among the Geonim who teach that [the get] is ineffective.

(23) The witnesses who sign the get must know how to read and sign. If, however, they do not know how to read, it must be read to them before they sign it, provided that they understand the language of the get.— —

(5) ... “For, like the earth, which gives forth its plants…” (Isaiah 61:11) R’ Pinchas and R’ Chilkiya in the name of R’ Simon: like someone who says to his friend ‘may the Holy One make you grow, may you win your judgment, “And nations shall see your righteousness…” (Isaiah 62:2) R’ Levi said: since in this world anyone who explicitly pronounces the name of the Holy One is liable for death, as it says “And one who blasphemously pronounces the Name of the Lord, shall be put to death…” (Leviticus 24:16) so too in the time to come anyone who explicitly pronounces the name of Jerusalem is liable for death, as it says “…and you shall be called a new name…” (Isaiah 62:2) R’ Levi said: there are six things which the Holy One will renew in the time to come and they are: heavens and earth, the heart, the spirit, the name of the Messiah and the name of Jerusalem. From where do we learn the heavens and earth? “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth…” (Isaiah 65:17) From where do we learn the heart and the spirit? “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you…” (Ezekiel 36:26) And from where do we learn the name of the Messiah? “May his name be forever; before the sun, his name will be magnified…” (Psalms 72:17) And from where do we learn the name of Jerusalem? “…and you shall be called a new name…” (Isaiah 62:2) R’ Levi said: happy is the city whose name is the same as that of her king and whose king’s name is the same as that of her God. Whose name is the same as her king? “…and the name of the city from that day will be ‘The Lord is There.’” (Ezekiel 48:35) Whose king’s name is the same as that of her God? “…and this is his name that he shall be called, The Lord is our righteousness.” (Jeremiah 23:6)

(1) If man sends a get to his wife and then catches up with the messenger, or sends a messenger after the original messenger, and says to him, “The get which I gave you is annulled”, then it is annulled. If the husband arrives at his wife before [the messenger] or sends a messenger to her and says, “The get which I sent to you is annulled”, then it is annulled. Once the get has reached her hand, he cannot annul it.